Reliability of the K-Force Muscle Controller Dynamometer on Eccentric and Isometric Hip Adduction Strength

Hip adduction strength tests are commonly used in clinical practice to provide an accurate diagnosis of groin injuries. Athletes with reduced adductor muscle strength are at risk of developing groin injuries. Our study aimed to evaluate the relative and absolute test-retest reliability of the side-lying eccentric hip adduction strength test and the long-lever adduction squeeze test using the K-Force hand-held dynamometer. Twenty physically active male individuals with a mean age (±SD) of 30.7 (±7.3) years were included. Both tests presented excellent test-retest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficient: 0.77 - 0.95). The best and mean scores of the eccentric and isometric tests presented the smallest test-retest variation (MDC%: 12.8 - 14.9 and MDC%: 14.6 - 18.7, respectively). Our study showed that the K-Force dynamometer has excellent reliability for assessing hip adduction strength in two different testing positions. We suggest the best and mean of three repetitions for clinical practice as they present the lowest variability. Further research evaluating its clinimetric properties in different populations and gender is recommended.

Compressive Strength of Basic Magnesium Sulfate Cement Coral Aggregate Concrete(MCAC)on Non-Destructive Testing

Basic magnesium sulfate cement coral aggregate concrete(MCAC)is a new type of concrete consisting of basic magnesium sulfate cement,coarse coral aggregate,coral reef sand and seawater.The rebound hammer(RH),the ultrasonic pulse velocity(UPV)and the compressive strength(fcu)tests of 14 sets of cube specimens of the MCAC after 28 d of aging were conducted.The impact of the content and length of sisal fiber on the relationship between the fcu-RH and the fcu-UPV was determined.A mathematical model was established to predict the strength of the MCAC using the UPV,RH,and comprehensive UPV/RH methods and to obtain the curves of test strength.The applicability of the test strength curves of ordinary portland concrete(OPC),light-weight aggregate concrete(LAC),and coral aggregate concrete(CAC)to MCAC was assessed.The results showed that the test strength curves of OPC,LAC and CAC were inappropriate to determine the strength of MCAC using non-destructive method.The relative standard error of the curves of test strength of the RH method and the comprehensive method met the specifications,whereas that of the UPV method did not.

Analysis of the Characteristics of Materials Obtained by Recycling Scrap Metal in Guinea

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of rebar produced from recycled scrap metal collected throughout the country,and imported rebar sold in the Republic of Guinea.To do this,the samples were subjected to various mechanical tests involving traction,bending and microscopic analysis.In the Lambanyi and Casse Sonfonia samples,all the tensile strength values for diameters 12,14 and 16 were above 550 MPa.Conversely,the iron samples from Baillobaye and the 10 mm diameters of the samples from Casse Sonfonio and Lambanyi have less appreciable values.The limits of elasticity were determined.The various values found vary more or less from the conventional yield strength of the NF A35-016 reference supplied by CBITEC,which is 500 MPa.Microscopic analysis gives us an insight into the internal structure of the iron samples used.This study may provide the company and the vendors with an alternative for their improvements.

Particle flow study on strength and meso-mechanism of Brazilian splitting test for jointed rock mass

A discrete element method （DEM） called particle flow code （PFC2D） was used to construct a model for Brazilian disc splitting test in the present study. Based on the experimental results of intact Brazilian disc of rock-like material, a set of micro-parameters in PFC2D that reflected the macro-mechanical behavior of rock-like materials were obtained. And then PFC2D was used to simulate Brazilian splitting test for jointed rock mass specimens and specimen containing a central straight notch. The effect of joint angle and notch angle on the tensile strength and failure mode of jointed rock specimens was detailed analyzed. In order to reveal the meso-mechanical mechanism of crack coalescence, displacement trend lines were applied to analyze the displacement evolution during the crack initiation and propagation. The investigated conclusions can be described as follows. （1） The tensile strength of jointed rock mass disc specimen is dependent to the joint angle. As the joint angle increases, the tensile strength of jointed rock specimen takes on a nonlinear variance. （2） The tensile strength of jointed rock mass disc specimen containing a central straight notch distributes as a function of both joint angle and notch angle. （3） Three major failure modes, i.e., pure tensile failure, shear failure and mixed tension and shear failure mode are observed in jointed rock mass disc specimens under Brazilian test. （4） The notch angle roles on crack initiation and and joint angle play important propagation characteristics of jointed rock mass disc specimen containing a central straight notch under Brazilian test.

Effect of discrete fibre reinforcement on soil tensile strength

The tensile behaviour of soil plays a significantly important role in various engineering applications. Compacted soils used in geotechnical constructions such as dams and clayey liners in waste containment facilities can suffer from cracking due to tensile failure. In order to increase soil tensile strength, discrete fibre reinforcement technique was proposed. An innovative tensile apparatus was developed to deter- mine the tensile strength characteristics of fibre reinforced soil. The effects of fibre content, dry density and water content on the tensile strength were studied. The results indicate that the developed test apparatus was applicable in determining tensile strength of soils. Fibre inclusion can significantly in- crease soil tensile strength and soil tensile failure ductility. The tensile strength basically increases with increasing fibre content. As the fibre content increases from 0% to 0.2%, the tensile strength increases by 65.7%. The tensile strength of fibre reinforced soil increases with increasing dry density and decreases with decreasing water content. For instance, the tensile strength at a dry density of 1.7 Mg/m^3 is 2.8 times higher than that at 1.4 Mg/m^3. It decreases by 30% as the water content increases from 14.5% to 20.5%. Furthermore, it is observed that the tensile strength of fibre reinforced soil is dominated by fibre pull-out resistance, depending on the interracial mechanical interaction between fibre surface and soil matrix.

Correlations between direct and indirect strength test methods

The difficulties associated with performing direct compression strength tests on rocks lead to the development of indirect test methods for the rock strength assessment. Indirect test methods are simple, more economical, less time-consuming, and easily adaptable to the field. The main aim of this study was to derive correlations between direct and indirect test methods for basalt and rhyolite rock types from Carlin trend deposits in Nevada. In the destructive methods, point load index, block punch index, and splitting tensile strength tests are performed. In the non-destructive methods, Schmidt hammer and ultrasonic pulse velocity tests are performed. Correlations between the direct and indirect compression strength tests are developed using linear and nonlinear regression analysis methods. The results show that the splitting tensile strength has the best correlation with the uniaxial compression strength.Furthermore, the Poisson's ratio has no correlation with any of the direct and indirect test results.

Influence of moisture content on shearing strength of unsaturated undisturbed quaternary system middle pleistocene

The unsaturated undisturbed quaternary system middle pleistocene loess,a typical unsaturated soil,often occurs in the implementation of western development strategy.To obtain the shearing strength characteristics of this unsaturated undisturbed loess,based on the analysis of mineral composition,the triaxial shear test of undisturbed quaternary system middle pleistocene loess under different moisture contents is conducted with the specialized triaxial instrument for unsaturated soil.The test results show that the mainly mineral composition of undisturbed quaternary system middle pleistocene loess is quartz and albite.Under the same confining pressure,the matric suction increases with the decrease of moisture content.The smaller the moisture content,the larger the matric suction;the higher the moisture content,the lower the matric suction.Under the same moisture content,the matric suction increases with the confining pressure and reaches a maximum when the confining pressure is 100 kPa,and then decreases with the increase of confining pressure.This phenomenon is closely related to the grain contact tightness of soil mass under high confining pressure.According to the triaxial test of loess,the sample of loess experiences 4 stages from loading to failure:1) compaction stage;2) compression stage;3) microcrack developing stage;4) shear failure stage.The test sample is of brittle failure(weak softening)under low moisture content and confining pressure.With the decrease of matric suction and the increase of consolidated confining pressure,the stress-strain curve changes from softening type to ideal plastic type.In the shearing strength parameters of unsaturated undisturbed loess,the influence of moisture content on internal friction angle is small,but that on cohesive force is obvious.Therefore,the shearing strength of unsaturated undisturbed loess is higher than that of saturated undisturbed loess and varies with the moisture content.

Design and application of wireless signal strength measurement system on the near-ground

The wireless communication system's performance is greatly constrained by the wireless channel characteristics,especially in some specific environment.Therefore,signal transmission will be greatly impacted even if not in a complicated topography.Testing results show that it is hardly to characterize the radio propagation properties for the antenna installed on the ground.In order to ensure a successful communication,the radio frequency(RF)wireless signal intensity monitor system was designed.We can get the wireless link transmission loss through measuring signal strength from received node.The test shows that the near-ground wireless signal propagation characteristics still can be characterized by the log distance propagation loss model.These results will conduce to studying the transmission characteristic of Near-Earth wireless signals and will predict the coverage of the earth's surface wireless sensor network.

EFFECT OF FRICTIONAL FORCE ON GEARING CONTACT FATIGUE STRENGTH

The model for computing frictional coefficient between two teeth faces at the state of mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication is established. And then more than 80 sets of numerical calculations and six sets of disc fatigue tests are completed. The results show that when the film thickness ratio λ 〈1.6, frictional coefficient μ is drastically decreased as λ. rises; Thereafter it decreases smoothly until λ=4.5. When λ〉4.5, however, it goes up again with λ, which indicates that the excessive film thickness ratio will deteriorate gearing contact fatigue strength. At the end, the formulae for determining the frictional coefficients are formed.

Analysis of the Performances and Optimization of Polyurethane Concrete with a Large Percentage of Fly Ash

The properties of polyurethane concrete containing a large amount of fly ash are investigated,and accordingly,a model is introduced to account for the influence of fly ash fineness,water ratio,and loss of ignition(LOI)on its mechanical performances.This research shows that,after optimization,the concrete has a compressive strength of 20.8 MPa,a flexural strength of 3.4 MPa,and a compressive modulus of elasticity of 19.2 GPa.The main factor influencing 28 and 90 d compressive strength is fly ash content,water-binder ratio,and early strength agent content.

Experimental research on coal seam similar material proportion and its application

In this paper, the optimization design of the low strength mechanical test and orthogonal test have been analyzed in order to simulate the mechanical properties of thick and extra-thick coal seam accurately in a similar material simulation test. The results show that the specimen can reach a wider range of strength when cement has been used compared to that of gypsum, suggesting that cement is more suitable for making coal seam in similar material simulation tests. The uniaxial compressive strength is more sensitive to cement than coal or sand. The proportion of coal and sand do not play a decisive role in uniaxial compressive strength. The uniaxial compressive strength and specimen density decrease as the mass percent of coal and aggregate–binder ratio rise. There is a positive correlation between uniaxial compressive strength and density. The No. 5 proportion(cement: sand: water: activated carbon: coal = 6:6:7:1.1:79.9)was chosen to be used in the similar material simulation test of steeply dipping and extra-thick coal seam with a density of 0.913 g/cm^3 and an uniaxial compressive strength of 0.076 MPa which are in accordance with the similarity theory. The phenomenon of overburden stratum movement, fracture development and floor pressure relief were obtained during the similar material simulation test by using the proportion.

A modified failure criterion for transversely isotropic rocks

A modified failure criterion is proposed to determine the strength of transversely isotropic rocks. Me-chanical properties of some metamorphic and sedimentary rocks including gneiss, slate, marble, schist, shale, sandstone and limestone, which show transversely isotropic behavior, were taken into consider-ation. Afterward, introduced triaxial rock strength criterion was modified for transversely isotropic rocks. Through modification process an index was obtained that can be considered as a strength reduction parameter due to rock strength anisotropy. Comparison of the parameter with previous anisotropy in-dexes in literature showed reasonable results for the studied rock samples. The modified criterion was compared to modified Hoek-Brown and Ramamurthy criteria for different transversely isotropic rocks. It can be concluded that the modified failure criterion proposed in this study can be used for predicting the strength of transversely isotropic rocks.

Stability analyses of vertically exposed cemented backfill:A revisit to Mitchell's physical model tests

Mitchell's solution is commonly used to determine the required strength of vertically exposed cemented backfill in mines. Developed for drained backfill, Mitchell model assumed a zero friction angle for the backfill. Physical model tests were performed. Good agreements were obtained between the required strengths predicted by the analytical solution and experimental results. However, it is well-known that zero friction angle can only be possible in terms of total stresses when geomaterials are submitted to unconsolidated and undrained conditions. A revisit to Mitchell's physical model tests reveals that both the laboratory tests performed for obtaining the shear strength parameters of the cemented backfill and the box stability tests were conducted under a condition close to undrained condition. This explains well the good agreement between Mitchell's solution and experimental results. Good agreements are equally obtained between Mitchell's experimental results and FLAC3 D numerical modeling of shortterm stability analyses of exposed cemented backfill.

Variable strength combinatorial testing of concurrent programs

Reachability testing is an important approach to testing concurrent programs. It generates and exercises syn- chronization sequences automatically and on-the-fly without saving any test history. Existing reach, ability testing can be classified into exhaustive and t-way testing. Exhaustive testing is impractical in many cases whilie t-way testing may decrease the capability of fault detection in some cases. In this paper, we present a variable strengda reachability testing strategy, which adopts the dynamic framework of reachability testing and uses a variable strength combinatorial strategy. Different parameter groups are provided with different covering strength. Variable strength testing covers no t-way combinations but the necessary combinations of parameters having mutual interactions in a concurrent program. It is more reasonable than t-way testing because uniform interactions between parameters do not often exist in concurrent systems. We propose a merging algorithm that implements the variable strength combinatorial testing strategy and conduct our experiment on several concurrent programs. The experimental results indicate that our variable strength reachability testing reaches a good tradeoff between the effectiveness and efficiency. It can keep the same capability of fault detection as exhaustive reachability testing while substantially reducing the number of synchronization sequences and decreasing the execution time in most cases.

Effect of drying environment on engineering properties of an expansive soil and its microstructure

This paper investigates the effect of drying environment, i.e. temperature and relative humidity, on the engineering properties and microscopic pore size distribution of an expansive soil. The shrinkage tests under different drying temperatures and relative humidity are carried out in a constant climate chamber. Then, the undisturbed samples, prepared in different drying environment, are used for the triaxial tests and mercury intrusion tests. It is found that the drying environment has noticeable influence on the engineering properties of expansive soils and it can be characterized by the drying rate. The linear shrinkage and strength increase with the decrease of the drying rate. The non-uniform deformation tends to happen in the high drying rate, which subsequently furthers the development of cracks. In addition, during the drying process, the variation of pores mainly focuses on the inter-aggregate pores and inter-particle pores. The lower drying rate leads to larger variation of pore size distribution.

High-Speed Ring Shear Tests to Study the Motion and Acceleration Processes of the Yingong Landslide

In this paper, the motion and acceleration process, as well as the mechanism of a high speed and long run landslide are investigated by adopting high speed ring shear test and taking the landslide occurred at Yigong River in Bomi, Tibet on April 9, 2000 as the background. According to the motion characteristics of high-speed and long distance motion landside, the mechanism is studied under different conditions such as shear speed, consolidated drained and consolidated undrained status. Results show that high speed shearing process hinders and delays the dissipation of pore pressure, and drives pore water migrating to shear zone slowly. Both of water content and fine particle content at shear zone are obviously higher than those in other layers; and soil liquefaction occurs at shear zone in the saturated consolidated undrained ring shear tests. The effective internal friction angle of the consolidated undrained soil is much lower than that of the consolidated drained soil under ring shearing. The results also indicate that the shearing speed affecting the strength of soil to some extent. The higher the ring shearing speed is, the lower the strength of soil is. This investigation provides a preliminary interpretation of the mechanism of the motion and acceleration process of the Yigong landslide, occurred in Tibet in 2000.

An in Vitro Comparison of Bonding Effectiveness of Different Adhesive Strategies on Erbium:Yttrium-Alluminum-Garnet Laser Irradiated Dentin

Background: To date there is not a material considered ideal for the lased dentin. Objective: To compare the bond strength to human lased dentin of self-etch and etch-and-rinse adhesive systems, a self-adhesive resin composite and a glass-ionomer cement. Methods: Forty human molars were sectioned to obtain a 2 mm-thick slab of mid-coronal dentin. The occlusal surface of each slab was polished by SiC paper (P600) for 10 s. Then an half part of dentin slabs was randomly selected for receiving treatment with 2.94 μm Er:YAG laser (DEKA, Smart 2940D Plus) with 10 Hz at 100 mJ, pulse duration of 230 μs with contact tip. Dentin slabs were randomly divided into four groups (n = 10). Six conical frustum-shaped build-ups were constructed on the occlusal surface of each dentin slab using bonding agents (OptiBond Solo Plus Group 1;OptiBond All-in-one Group 2) combined with a resin composite (Premise Flow), self-adhesive resin composites (Vertise Flow Group 3) and a glass-ionomer cement (Ketac-Fil Group 4). Specimens were subjected to μSBS test. Data were analyzed by a mixed model and Tukey’s test. Results: Measured bond strengths were (mean ± standard deviation): 20.8 ± 5.5 MPa (laser treatment) and 15.6 ± 4.5 MPa (SiC paper) for Group 1, 18.9 ± 5.3 MPa (laser treatment) and 14.0 ± 4.3 MPa (SiC paper) for Group 2, 7.9 ± 2.8 MPa (laser treatment) and 4.3 ± 2.2 MPa (SiC paper) for Group 3, 4.7 ± 1.9 MPa (laser treatment) and 2.6 ± 1.2 MPa (SiC paper) for Group 4. The inferential analysis showed that the dentin laser treatment significantly affected the bond strength within each individual group. On dentin treated with laser the bond strengths recorded for build-ups constructed with etch and rinse and self-etch adhesive systems were significantly higher than those recorded for build-ups constructed with self-adhesive resin composite and glass-ionomer cement (p < 0.0001). Similarly, on dentin treated with SiC paper the bond strengths recorded for build-ups constructed with etch and rinse and self-etch adhesive systems were significantly higher than those recorded for build-ups constructed with self-adhesive resin composite and glass-ionomer cement (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Er:YAG laser treatment has increased the shear bond strength of all the adhesive materials used.

Stability analysis of shallow tunnels subjected to eccentric loads by a boundary element method

This paper presents the results of the shear strength（frictional strength） of cemented paste backfillcemented paste backfill（CPB-CPB） and cemented paste backfillerock wall（CPB-rock） interfaces. The frictional behaviors of these interfaces were assessed for the short-term curing times（3 d and 7 d） using a direct shear apparatus RDS-200 from GCTS（Geotechnical Consulting ＆ Testing Systems）. The shear（friction） tests were performed at three different constant normal stress levels on flat and smooth interfaces. These tests aimed at understanding the mobilized shear strength at the CPB-rock and CPB-CPB interfaces during and/or after open stope filling（no exposed face）. The applied normal stress levels were varied in a range corresponding to the usually measured in-situ horizontal pressures（longitudinal or transverse） developed within paste-filled stopes（uniaxial compressive strength, s c 150 k Pa）. Results show that the mobilized shear strength is higher at the CPB-CPB interface than that at the CPB-rock interface. Also, the perfect elastoplastic behaviors observed for the CPB-rock interfaces were not observed for the CPB-CPB interfaces with low cement content which exhibits a strain-hardening behavior. These results are useful to estimate or validate numerical model for pressures determination in cemented backfill stope at short term. The tests were performed on real backfill and granite. The results may help understanding the mechanical behavior of the cemented paste backfill in general and, in particular, analyzing the shear strength at backfillebackfill and backfill-rock interfaces.

Multiple Coatings can Improve the Bond Durability of One-step Self-etching Adhesive to Primary Dentin

Objective To investigate whether multiple coatings can improve the bond durability of one-step self-etching adhesive to primary dentin. Methods Twelve caries-free human primary molars were randomly divided into 2 groups. In group 1, each tooth was hemisected into 2 halves. One half was assigned to the control subgroup 1, which was bonded with a commercially available one-step self-etching adhesive according to the manufacturer＇s instruc- tions; the other half was assigned to experimental subgroup 1, in which the adhesive was applied three times before light curing. In group 2, one split half tooth was bonded with a commercially available one-step self-etching adhesive according to the manufacturer＇s instructions; for the other half, three layers of adhesive were applied with each successive layer of light curing. Specimens were stored in 0.9% NaC1 containing 0.02% sodium azide at 37℃ for 18 months and then were subjected to microtensile bond strength test and the fracture mode analysis. Results When the adhesive was applied three times before light curing, the bond strength of the ex- perimental subgroup 1 was significantly higher than that of the control subgroup 1 （47.46__＋13.91 vs. 38.12＋11.21 MPa, P〈O.05）. When using the technique of applying multiple layers of adhesive with each successive layer of light curing, no difference was observed in bond strength between the control subgroup and the experimental subgroup （39.40＋8.87 vs. 40.87-＋9.33 MPa, P〉O.05）. Conclusion Multiple coatings can improve the bond durability of one-step self-etching adhesive to primary dentin when using the technique of light-curing after applying 3 layers of adhesive.

Analysis of Shop cold water stability of asphalt concrete composite

He cold asphalt concrete is laid composite that combines the advantages of rigid cement concrete and asphalt concrete flexible pavement materials and new waterproof materials, and it is also known as semi-rigid concrete or semi-rigid waterproof concrete. Cold paved asphalt concrete composite retains the advantages of rigid and flexible waterproof material waterproof material which abandoned both of their inadequacies, is waterproof material with a wide range of space research and application prospects. This study immersion Marshall test and freeze-thaw split test two test methods for cold-laid asphalt concrete composite conducted a comprehensive analysis of the stability of the water; the highest draw AC1-6 AC-20 immersion Marshall stability and 20.59, respectively, by testing MPa and 19.96 Mpa, freeze-thaw splitting strength to reach the highest ratio of 91% and 93% respectively, the value specification can be met, and through the analysis of the test data to identify the content of the asphalt cement content and cold water laid asphalt compound affect the stability of the peak will occur, so that it can be combined with concrete interfacial adhesion studies to further the comprehensive and accurate assessment of water resistance of the material.